Sunday 10 June 2018

June 1- 3 Steve & Diane at Pineridge

June 1
This afternoon Steve & Dianne of Living the Dream are coming to spend a couple days with us on their trek east. They are going across Canada this summer with their rig visiting some family and seeing the sites along the way. Use the link above and check out their blog, it's always great and they do fantastic photos.
Before they get here we want to pick up a couple things so off we go to the thriving village of Evansburg, Ab! Evansburg is a great little village and has the cool Mom and Pop stores that we like to support. We started with a couple groceries and then over to the liqour store. A paper sign in the window says "back in 10 minutes". That's small town stuff right there! The bakery is a short block away. Let's get a sandwich to share as we just had breakfast. Oh look Leslie, cinnamon twists!! Whatever, we've been exercising lots right? We got a chance to enjoy second breakfast and drove back to Pineridge to wait for a message to meet our company. Shortly after 1 pm we got a message that they were close so we drove out to the highway to show them the way in and open the gate for them. They stopped to check out the site and we all did hugs and handshakes. We went to our rig to do some prep for supper while they get set up.
Getting squared away

Leslie's fave, the veggie mix
I walked over to see how things are going and Steve doesn't look happy. There is an issue with their inverter/charger and it is beeping and saying internal fault code. I know nothing about that stuff so it's best to get out of the way and let him work. They came over in a little while and we got in our truck to go pay for the site. They are trying a hard reboot with help from the manufacturer, not great but hopefully works. Well long story short, it didn't help and that means that even though we have 50 amp power supply it can't get into their rig. They ran an extension cord to a power bar and were able to charge devices and plug in the tv. No a/c, no microwave and running on batteries. Friday afternoon, not much we can do today. Umm should we have a fire and happy hour? Yep that's the plan.
Left to right, Bert, Vera, Steve, Leslie's chair,Dianne and me
Our across the street neighbours Bert and Vera walked over to join us. They also spend winters in an RV in Casa Grande, AZ.  We all had lots in common to talk about. After a couple of drinks we said see ya later to Bert and Vera and went in for supper. I barbecued some steaks and Leslie did everything else. Turned out pretty darn good!

Looks yummy!
We finished dinner and sat down and chatted to get caught up and share plans for the next few days. For a dessert treat we brought out one of our faves.... Chapmans Black Jack Cherry frozen yogurt. Neither Steve or Dianne had tried it before. We love it and it turns out Steve does too! Dianne liked it but has the willpower to limit how much she enjoys. More for Steve I guess!
June 2
We had the usual quiet morning and around 10 a.m. we walked over to see if they wanted to check out the Seba Beach Farmer's Market that is on for a couple hours downtown. Sure, they said, so we jumped in the truck and took the scenic drive along the beach of Lake Wabuman to the farmers market.
Ready to shop!
We were wondering if it was a bad idea to bring Margaret to the market? Turns out lots of folks bring their dogs, some much larger than Margaret.
Nice puppy !
We bought some farm fresh eggs, some fresh made apple juice and some veggies for later. I also grabbed some thick cut bacon from a butcher in Calmar, which was great when we cooked it up later. After the market we went back to Pineridge and took a little break to put things away.  Next up was a little truck tour as Steve wanted to look for a new 50-30 amp plug for their rig. We were driving to Spruce Grove and Grove RV in particular. Along the way we decided to check out Wabuman Lake Provincial Park just for future reference. We were driving right into a rain storm, not that big but high wind and lots of rain. Dianne is still wanting see thunder and lightening Alberta style! This wasn't it unfortunately.
Entrance to the park
It's a nice park but not big rig friendly by any means. I'm not sure we could drive the loops with our trailer much less find one to back into. We drove over to the day use area and beach, wow this part is definitely worth a look.
Nice walk along the beach 
This bay is shallow but a nice dock
Great playground if you have kids
There was also a snack shack and not too terrible washrooms for the public.
We carried on to Grove RV and ended up looking through a bunch of really expensive motorhomes in the showroom. We all enjoy checking out the shiny new ones and seeing the new gadgets they come with. Leslie hit a button for the night shades in one rig and it dropped down and kind of folded at the bottom. That's not the one we want lol. What's next? The part Steve wanted was there but ridiculous price, he can find it elsewhere at a way better deal. Of course all this walking and looking is making us a little hungry and thirsty. We needed to stop at TD bank anyway and "Oh look, it's a Canadian Brewhouse" in the same parking lot. How convenient! Steve & Diane have never been to Brewhouse before so it's a great idea.
Not too busy and good snacks and beer!
We had a great server, she was from Newfoundland originally and working here now. Super nice and takes a nice phone pic.
We drove back home and relaxed a bit before supper. Dianne invited us for burgers and salad tonight. Perfect! Burgers on the bbq are one my fave meals. Leslie's favourite is the salad and the meal was delicious. Great company and great food, life is good! 
June 3
We all had mentioned the night before that we would like to get in some exercise this morning. Steve & Dianne have resistance exercises that they like to do and Leslie and I like the walk/run thing so that's what we did first thing. Then back to the rig for some food and showers before we get going. Today we are going to Stony Plain Rodeo!! Steve has been to rodeos before but this is Dianne's first one! We're excited to take them as we know at a small town rodeo the seats are usually very close to the action. Even the nosebleed seats are only 10-12 feet up lol. First we have to find parking. Let's not do detail on this one but we found a school parking lot where a shuttle bus runs from and parked and boarded the "shuttle". Of course it's a school bus! How fun is this??
The wheels on the bus...
After a short ride to the rodeo grounds we got off and headed for the bleachers.
They got these Bud hats down south, howdy pard'ner, lil' lady
We walked past some booths selling hats and other good stuff but we wanted to get in and grab seats before it got too busy. The line at the mini donuts was way too long or we would have been enjoying that sugary treat. We found seats close to the middle and second row from the top. I could have jumped down if needed.
Not the only big hats in town and cold beer at the entrance!
We waited about 40 minutes for the start and a nice tribute to our military men and women after the national anthem. Good stuff.
Now let's get to the critters!
 Junior steer riding
 Barrel racing, always exciting and fast!

I didn't get pics of every event, that would be too much anyway. They had 3 girls doing trick riding that was really cool and some of the rides they did looked like the horse might step on the head. Incredibly athletic.
 Hands free at whole new level
Literally hanging from a galloping horse

And of course the event everybody loves at the rodeo.... bull riding! We had to wait a little because one of the bulls was trying to jump out of the chute. Didn't want to play nice that day, so the rodeo clown kept us entertained by messing with the pickup guys and dancing on the top of his barrel.
 Clown in back dancing and the pickup men



The bulls won the day, don't think anybody made 8 seconds
There it is, Dianne's first live rodeo and a great day so far. I think we all enjoyed the rodeo but it does get a little tough sitting on a plank for 3 hours in the heat. Good thing they had them big hats. Steve brought his"real" camera to the rodeo. If you'd like to see some better pics please check out their blog link at the top of this post. We caught the bus back to the truck and decided on supper at the 9 Iron Grill at the clubhouse at Pineridge. The food there is really good and it's so close to home. 
Well now that we had some fun.... I want to try to roll my shed to it's new spot tomorrow. Good times :)

2 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a blast.

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  2. It’s always a fun time when we get together! We really enjoyed the rodeo. Thanks guys!

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